“Guys…” I lay on my left side so I could fully face her. “I didn’t date them because my town was so dang small that if I even sneezed in the wrong direction my mom said bless you before I even got it out. I mean, the one time I got a bad grade on my report card, it made the newspaper.”
“Huh? What the hell kind of town does that?”
“One that literally documents how many people visit it during the high season.”
“High season?” Lisa asked.
“Tourist season. When people go wine-tasting. Last year we had five hundred, which is more people than our entire town put together.”
“This information makes me depressed,” Lisa announced. “So no cute boys then?”
“Mayor’s son was cute.”
“Oh, that’s cool!” she gushed.
“Yup, the quarterback of the football team thought so too.”
“Did that one make the news?” She cringed.
I wrinkled my nose and nodded. “It did. Along with my bad grade.”
“I would have taken the bad grade.”
“Agreed.” I laughed. It felt good that someone could empathize with how bad it royally sucked to be the center of attention. Tension slowly left my body.
“Well, we’ll have to rectify this situation immediately.” She licked her lips. “I know plenty of guys. I met at least ten at orientation this morning. One of them had tattoos.” She sighed longingly. “I’m a sucker for tattoos.”
“But they cover your skin.” I pointed out. “And a tattoo is forever. I mean, don’t you think it’s kind of trashy?”
“Who are you?” She squinted. “Apparently your small town was built underneath a rock.”
“Um…” I laughed. “My point exactly.”
“Trust me, the only reason you don’t like tattoos is because you’ve never seen them spread over a hot body. You’ll change real fast when you see that yummy goodness on a six pack. Hell, last time I saw a shirtless guy with tattoos I asked if I could lick him.”
“What did he say?”
Lisa sighed. “Yes…” Then she shrugged. “We dated for a week, then I left him for greener pastures.”
“Bigger tattoo?”
“How’d you know!” She threw her head back and laughed. “I was kind of known for being the school slut, but it was better than not being known at all.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but I kept my mouth shut, especially considering I’d never even kissed a guy before. Too embarrassed to admit my inexperience, I just shrugged. “Well, that’s what college is for. It’s a fresh start, right?”
“Right.” Her eyes flickered away from mine for a brief moment. Her smile fell from her face. “Well, at any rate, we should get some sleep if we’re going boy-hunting tomorrow.”
“Right.” I yawned again. “And thanks, Lisa, for checking on me.”
“What type of roommate would I be if I didn’t come running?”
“One who didn’t kill lamps and wake up with two bruises?”
“Damn lamp,” she muttered. “Night, Kiersten.”
“Night.”
Chapter Two
If it looks like a rat, smells like a rat, and talks like a rat, it’s probably a freaking rat.
Kiersten
“Name?” The guy at Registration didn’t look up, merely paused as his fingers hovered over the iPad. I’d woken up at seven so I could make early registration at eight. Tables were lined outside the Student Center in prison-like fashion. At least twenty upperclassman stood in front of the tables with packets and bored expressions.
“Kiersten,” I answered.
He let out an irritated sigh. “There are over thirty-five thousand students on this campus, and you want me to look you up by your first name, Kiersten?”
“Sorry. Uh… Rowe. Kiersten Rowe.”
He typed away. “Well, Rowe Kiersten Rowe, it looks like you’re registered for nineteen credits and have yet to decide on a major.”
What was he? A profiler? “That’s right.” I leaned back on my heels and cleared my throat. He still didn’t look up.
“Hmm…” His hands moved fluidly over the screen. “Alright, I’m sending your schedule to your school email.” He set the iPad down and grabbed a packet. “Campus map, mailbox number, student email, everything you need is in this package. If you have any questions, you can ask your RA.”
I hoped he meant resident advisor, because if he meant something else I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Okay.” I took the packet he thrust in my face. “What about my student ID card?”
“Next!” He lifted his head and shot me another irritated glance.
“Excuse me.” I stood my ground. “Where do I get my student ID card?”
His shoulders slumped. “Look, Kiersten, I have a line of a few hundred students, I said everything you need to know is in your packet, so look in your packet. If you have questions, ask your RA. We…” He pointed at himself then at me. “…are finished here.”
What the hell was his problem?
I wasn’t sure if I was embarrassed or just irritated. Cursing, I held the packet to my chest and stomped off. I turned around to send him one last seething glare and ran smack dab into a tree.
Or at least it felt like a tree.